Microeconomics 2

Catalog description

This course provides a PhD-level introduction to game theory and market design. Game theory is the study of strategic decision making. It is routinely used in economics, political science, and computer science in the theoretical analysis of decision making. The course covers the analysis of static and dynamic games of both complete and incomplete information. Game theory provides the theoretical foundation for the study of how institutions shape behavior which, in turn, determines economic, social, and political outcomes. It provides the conceptual tools necessary to undertake ''economic engineering,'' i.e., to design institutions that generate desirable outcomes. The second part of the course concerns market design, focusing on the two most-widely studied types of applications: auction design and the design of ''matching'' markets (e.g., school choice, kidney exchange).